On My Record Player Part 5

Well, what can any guitar player really say about Jimi Hendrix that hasn’t already been said? I can’t even remember when and where I really first discovered this guy. Either way, while anyone can really say they appreciate Jim Hendrix and call him the greatest guitar player to ever live, I think there are really only a select few who have really really listened to him very closely, and all that he recorded between 1966-1970. He, himself with his wild music style went through stages of evolution that showed the fire of his spirit in his songwriting. He was one of those special musicians that came along that was young yes, but had something very important to say with his guitar and his own unique modern approach to pychadelic innovative electric rock n roll music of the late 60’s. One funny thing to mention is that Jimi Hendrix said that after seeing the record cover for Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, he really understood the direction where music was going and meant to go as well as admiring a pop-star that had an afro hairsyle that wasn’t even of african descent. I got my copy of Are You Experienced at Record and Tape Exchange in Fairfax, VA in 2005 after owning a burned copy of the CD my younger cousin Ryan Hecht made for me from a Christmas visit almost 2 years prior I believe. What can I say about Are You Experienced? Well, its a great display of this band’s dynamic. A 3 piece that worked geniously in sync showcasing the combination of British and American psychadelic sound of 1967. It is so different than the Beatles Sgt. Peppers in how deep it goes towards creating just a new musical experience that takes pop music to a new dimention. All that being said, its Jimi Hendrix! the guy played guitar with a headband containing absorbing acid on blotter paper. He played left handed, guiatr upside down, he taught himself. He connected to a higher power of creativity when playing guitar that probably has never been seen before. he left this world all too soon, but left some really fucking cool music. Check out Bnad of Gypsys to see exactly where he can go with the guitar.

Rolling Stone – 5 out of 5 stars

Jimi Hendrix was arguably the greatest rock instrumentalist of the Sixties. His blunt attack contrasted sharply with the meticulous virtuosity of an Eric Clapton; Hendrix preferred and angry metal whine, molten steel to Clapton’s polished chrome. His rough edges conveyed far more than his awesome dexterity. In a genre where computerized pyrotechnics seem the rule, Hendrix played with a rawness transcending idiomatic formalities.

One of the most stunning debuts in rock history, and one of the definitive albums of the psychedelic era. On Are You Experienced?, Jimi Hendrix synthesized various elements of the cutting edge of 1967 rock into music that sounded both futuristic and rooted in the best traditions of rock, blues, pop, and soul. It was his mind-boggling guitar work, of course, that got most of the ink, building upon the experiments of British innovators like Jeff Beckand Pete Townshend to chart new sonic territories in feedback, distortion, and sheer volume. It wouldn’t have meant much, however, without his excellent material, whether psychedelic frenzy (“Foxey Lady,” “Manic Depression,” “Purple Haze”), instrumental freak-out jams (“Third Stone From the Sun”), blues (“Red House,” “Hey Joe”), or tender, poetic compositions (“The Wind Cries Mary”) that demonstrated the breadth of his songwriting talents. Not to be underestimated were the contributions of drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, who gave the music a rhythmic pulse that fused parts of rock and improvised jazz. Many of these songs are among Hendrix’s very finest; it may be true that he would continue to develop at a rapid pace throughout the rest of his brief career, but he would never surpass his first LP in terms of consistently high quality. The British and American versions of the album differed substantially when they were initially released in 1967; MCA’s 17-song CD reissue does everyone a favor by gathering all of the material from the two records in one place, adding a few B-sides from early singles as well.